The Tabard Inn
Preserved but no longer current.
The inn whence pilgrims from London used to set out on their journey to Canterbury; it was on the London estate of the abbots of Hyde, and lay in the Southwark (now Borough) High Street, a little to the south of London Bridge. It and its host, Harry Baily, are immortalized in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “The Tabard Inn” mean?
The inn whence pilgrims from London used to set out on their journey to Canterbury; it was on the London estate of the abbots of Hyde, and lay in the Southwark (now Borough) High Street, a little to the south of London Bridge. It and its host, Harry Baily, are immortalized in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
Is “The Tabard Inn” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.